Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Friday Questions
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Question #8: No way. No how. Not now. Not ever.
I always give a book a chance. They get a one chapter chance. If it's not working then I don't finish it. New Moon in the Twilight series definitely did NOT pass. It was very redundant being as many of the scenes and verbage were just a rehashed Twilight.
I don't read 'chick lit'. Give me guns, dead bodies and mysteries...I was a Hardy Boys fan over Nancy Drew, too.
Librarianforhim wrote: "Hmm...I don't think I'd pick up a bodice ripper type romance book again. I got my fill of those earlier in life and have no interest in going back. Ditto for Anne Rice, Steven King, and Dean R. Koo..."I agree with you here. I used to read those type of books as well. The harlequin's etc. I also probably won't read Danielle Steele again. I read so much of her when I was younger that I don't think I'd want to again. Too many other good books out there.
Molly wrote: "Wendy wrote: "Personally I was riveted by his portrayal of his anger and the analysis of the source of his drug dependence. This part was likely based on truth...."Agreed. That is why it is un..."
I read this at a time when I was dealing with an ex who was a drug addict. I needed to read this whether it was true or not to give me a different perspective and open my mind to forgiveness. So, whether it was true or not is irrelevant to my enjoyment of it.
Ed wrote: "Anything by Wally Lamb... Like the person toward the start of this thread, I read She's Come Undone and detested it."I hated "She's Come Undone" too, but I loved "I Know This Much Is True" and really liked "The Hour I First Believed." Luckily, I read "She's Come Undone" after I had read "I Know....True" so he was a 50/50 author for me, so I picked up "The Hour...Believed" and don't regret it.
I refuse to read Jodi Picoult again, hate Anne Rice, and am becoming more and more disillusioned with Wilbur Smiths later novels, can't stand the Womans Murder Club and from my school days there is probably nothing because I never really did my homework anyway. I don't like the whole world telling me I HAVE to read any one book or author. But horror of horrors I loved Twilight, even though I thought I wouldn't like it, am now a big fan of romance and paranormal romance, but like you all seem to point out, its not easy to find a good one.
Dan Brown. I was banging my head against the wall after The DaVinci Code. I think the subject matter is fascinating, but there are better books out there with the same theme.
Stephanie, I have to agree. I forced my way through the DaVinci Code. A friend of mine told me that Angels and Demons was SOOOO good so I gave it a try. Ugh--should've known better. That's it for me with Dan Brown.
Mod
I tried to read Da Vinci Code and couldn't get through it either. I won't read anything by Dan Brown at all.James Frey is another one, I flipped through his first book and couldn't believe a word of it (like being allowed on a plane while covered in blood and vomit).
Won't read Lord of the Rings trilogy either.
Sarah wrote: "Hmmm...interesting question. Well...I will NEVER read anything by Ann Coulter. No way.
I won't read anything by James Patterson (I don't believe he even writes his own books anymore) or Sylv..."
I'm there with you on Ann Coulter! She annoys me...I can't stand it when she's on TV and somehow I can't get to the remote (like my hands are in ground beef and I'm making meatballs) I'll be screaming at some one to change the channel--Ugh, she bugs me!
Faye wrote: "The more I hear about My Sister's Keeper, or for that matter, Jodi Picoult, the more I want to dig my heals in about never reading it (her.) "At this point with the movie coming out, don't you feel like you know the story! Some friends were going to the movie--I knew I couldn't stand to sit through it since I think I know the whole thing. It would frustrate me. (Kind of like Titanic- the boat goes down!).
I am a sap. I will read ANYTHING. However, this is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because occasionally I will read a book that I never thought I would read, and enjoy it. A curse because sometimes the books I pick up are awful.I am really particular about my books and how I read them. If I start a book, I have to finish it, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Heresy I know - and all you little acolytes can skip the verbal tirade - no Stephanie Meyers. EVER. I bought them for my BFF's daughter in a thankfully successful bid to get her reading. I don't think I need to subject myself to more than the two pages I read & her breathless synopsis whenever she finishes the next one. I'm going to stick with Meljean Brook & JR Ward for my vampire action.
It's actually authors that I won't read, as opposed to specific books for me. I read "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult and I despised it so much that I vowed to never read another one of her books. Same thing with "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner. Also, I won't read anything by Nicholas Sparks. I've tried to read a couple of his books and I just can't do it.
Also, any book with a cover that says it's the "Feel good book of the year!". GACK! Good rule of thumb for movies too.
I will never read another book from Joyce Carol Oats. The reasoning behind this author is I read We are the Mulvaney's (Oprah book club) I took this book with me everytime I went to do laundry, while pregnant. This took me the WHOLE nine months. Half way through this book, I was over it. However, I am a stickler about finishing a book. So, that would be why.
Romance definitely. My husband has tried in vain to get me to read some fantasy but I just cant get past the first 30 pages it seems. I have no interest in any kind of sports writing or any YA books. A friend of mine got me to read Twilight and I really gave it a chance but I never finished it and couldn't BOTHER to read the last few chapters! It's bad when you can't get past the beginning of a book but it's really bad when you can't even bring yourself to finish it. I've never read a mystery but I have a co-worker, whose literary opinion I trust thoroughly, who says she has great recommendations. Otherwise I would never read that genre. edit to add: historical fiction scares me!
The Purpose Driven Life - I know a lot of people say it changed their world, yada yada yada, but I have difficulty with his theology and I just can't seem to swallow it. I thought I would avoid Twilight till death, but then I went to see the movie... and had to check out the book. I like the story (although I generally dislike fantasy) but the writing is terrible. Ugh.
Other than that I avoid thriller/crime books. I also agree with someone who mentioned previously that it is hard to think of the ones I don't want to read when there are so many that I DO want to read!
:)
Connie wrote: "Ed wrote: "Anything by Wally Lamb... Like the person toward the start of this thread, I read She's Come Undone and detested it."I hated "She's Come Undone" too, but I loved "I Know This Much Is..."
And I just read Wishn' & Hopin' by Wally Lamb and it was LOL funny. total departure from his other books. So now Wally Lamb is up 3-1 in my liked/disliked category.
I won't read the Twilight series. My roommate saw the first movie and went out and bought the whole series. I watched the first movie and thought, what's the big deal. The movie was really lame and did not inspire me to want to know more about the characters. In fact, it turned me off. Sorry Twilight fans. I will also never read Sarah Palin's book. She scares me. I can't believe she was ever picked to be a running mate in the Presidential race. Actually, books on politics just don't do it for me period.
I tried reading the Lemony Snickets books, I got through the first 5 before it got boring. Same thing happened everytime. I'll never read another.
Ah, yes, Sarah Palin. Yet another example of the Peter Principle. (How's that for pulling a concept out of the distant past?) You've gotta wonder at America's neverending fascination with & glorification of all things banal & ignorant.
Tell me about it. I am trying to not be irked by her, but she's still on TV, writing books, all over the internet and people actually invite her to speak at their events. WHY??? Is it because they are hoping to see a car crash?? I don't get it. I'll stop there. I wrote a whole lot more and found that I could go on forever to the point of annoying myself.
Bishop wrote: "I have a pretty intense dislike for Oprah (for a variety of reasons).However, she has chosen some good books: The Sound and the Fury/As I Lay Dying/A Light in August, East of Eden, The Bluest Eye..."
There are books that Oprah has put in her book club after they were already critically acclaimed i.e. "Say You're One Of Them" I had been wanting to read that book for months and before she put it on her list.
Rachel wrote: "Oh, I almost forgot this! I sat beside this girl for half of my fifth year of high school (junior year equiv.) and she was reading a Khaled Hosseini (sp?) book for her English Personal Study, and r...""A Thousand Splendid Suns" is a fantastic book. I hope you give it a chance one day.
For me, its not so much that I refuse to read things, but that there are so many books I want to read. I know that I will never be able to get to everything I WANT to get to, so the few things that automatically go in the trash heap here are things that start like, "If a book has a summary that starts along the line of: " had it all -- loving husband, perfect car, well-behaved and beautiful children, until..." No more V.C. Andrews, no Ann Coulter, and no thank you to The Book of Mormon. I need to read my Bible, and that's enough of a project,so for that matter, no L. Ron Hubbard, either. No offense, just don't have the time or desire to waste on things that don't interest me.
V.C. Andrews! OMG! I have a friend who was totally addicted to those books when we were kids. She would give me a summary of each book and I was HORRIFIED. No V.C. Andrews ever. And, now that I'm thinking about it no Danielle Steele. Read Palamino & called it a day. I guess there's more I won't read than I thought...
I immediately put down Eat, Pray, Love because the author said at the beginning she was going on a trip and going to make a book of her journey. I think you can contrive certain experiences if you set out with that as a goal so I put it down and feel like I'm the only woman in America who hasn't read it.
Barbie wrote: "I immediately put down Eat, Pray, Love because the author said at the beginning she was going on a trip and going to make a book of her journey. I think you can contrive certain experiences if you ..."I have not read Eat, Pray, Love and have never felt inclined to do so. I didn't know there was so much hype about it!
I will never ever read another book by Alice Sebold. I tortured myself and first read The Almost Moon because it was a bookclub read and I hated it A LOT!!! and then I heard so much hype over The Lovely Bones so I had to read it in hopes that maybe she just had a bad writing event but hten I realized I hated that one too so now she is banned from my reading lists!!
Anything written "for dummies" or "for idiots." What happened to being a *beginner*? Why would I want to walk around with a book that proclaims I'm stupid? (Yes, I do walk around with my books. Never leave the house without one -- or maybe two, just in case...)
Haha...never thought about it like that Naomi, but that's a good point. Being new at something doesn't make you "dumb" or an "idiot". For some of us, that's just a constant. Hehehe...as if those books could actually CURE stupidity. I think not.
No more Salinger . . . I've read two now and don't like them.It's hard to avoid books that are on Oprah's club . . . they're on other clubs too.
A book I don't like, and will not read again is Lord of the Flies - I don't know why it's so popular.
I never say never, but I'll do my best to avoid Stephenie Meyer, Coelho and Dan Brown. No horror books.
Like many previous posters I detest cheesy romances and chick lit doesn't interest me at all. I avoid over hyped books- they are disappointing most of the time.
Like many previous posters I detest cheesy romances and chick lit doesn't interest me at all. I avoid over hyped books- they are disappointing most of the time.
You mentioned Meljean Brook and J.R. Ward for Vampire books. I have never heard of them. Are they good? You failed to mention Anne Rice. The Vampire Chronicles are some of the best vampire books ever written. You should check them out if you haven't already.
Michael wrote: "You mentioned Meljean Brook and J.R. Ward for Vampire books. I have never heard of them. Are they good? ..."I would recommend Meljean Brooks' Guardian series to anyone. Her characters have depth and her world building is excellent. Well thought out and consistent. And it's not all about vampires. J.R. Ward less expert with the world building. Enough inconsistencies to make you want to throw the book at a wall, but she makes the Brothers so damn intriguing you can't help yourself. Oh, beware you would definitely be trespassing into the paranormal romance genre, but I think you'd find the trip worthwhile.
You failed to mention Anne Rice. The Vampire Chronicles are some of the best vampire book..."And I've read some Anne Rice. I stuck it through the Vampire LeStat, but lost interest. Don't be offended. I won't be if you don't like Meljean Brook.
I swore for years that I would not read The Lovely Bones. My latest book club chose it, and I finally agreed to give it a try. Actually I've been pleasantly surprised. I am not a fan of Don DeLillo. I've read two, including Underworld, and that's enough, thanks. I have no intention of ever even attempting Ulysses. And I don't read Stephen King.
Chris wrote: "...I have no intention of ever even attempting Ulysses"Why not?
I probably wont read The Secret. I got no good reason, but I'm a happy and positive person. And happy and positive people doesn't need to read a book about how the laws of attraction "works". If I smile there is a good chance the person I'm smiling at will smile back. Facts of life.
Also I wont ever read The Private Patient by P. D. James. I've started reading it a couple of times, but it's just so unbelievably dull. The writing is boring, it doesn't captivate me at all.
Why? Hmm, I like questions that make me think. First, I have no interest in it. Second, I don't like stream-of-conscious writing most of the time. Third, I absolutely hated having to read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in college. If I did read it, it would be simply to slog through and say I've done it, and there are so many other books I'd rather spend my time on. I think there some someone in GR who wrote about Ulysses saying he liked books in which the author has a conversation with the reader and Ulysses was like the author was in a corner babbling incoherently to himself. But please feel free to try to convince me otherwise. :-)
Well, I haven't read it. Yet. I'm gonna start on Finnegans Wake soon. But I see your point.
I'm currently reading Gulliver's Travels, and I like that it's ... (really dunno the word in english for it) self reflexive in a way, if I can call it that. The way it's "written" by the main character, and how he includes the reader by adressing us.
I can see how Joyce's writing differs from that. I still like to give it a go. :)
Should've said something along the lines of not caring for fiction books featuring heroinnes who are TSTL.
I will probably never read Twilight. 
Hmm. I am not one to say never very often, but Danielle Steel is the ONE. I read one and, like others, will never go back.I happen to love Sci-fi and fantasy. It does take a certain personality and perseverence to get through them. The Hobbit and LOTR was great but a lot of work. I have a friend who has read the trilogy at least 3 times! You learn new things with each reading.
Doubt I will ever try an Ayn Rand.
I don't think I'll ever read anything by Chuck Palahniuk. I suffered through Choke and the intense perversity just to realize at the end there was really no plot.
I still have nightmares about never REALLY finishing Great Expectations. I had an aunt who would call me every week after I graduated from high school to see if I had finished it yet. I think by the end of the summer, I told her I had just to get her off my back and she started quizzing me on it! I rebelled and never finished it. I also will not read vampire books ( sorry!)or VC Andrews, or romances. I did finish Anna Karenina and am pretty far in Moby Dick ( but Scully from X Files talks about the book so much I had to read it...). : D
( but Scully from X Files talks about the book so much I had to read it...). : D Really? I never noticed. Now I have to read it to.
Felina wrote: "( but Scully from X Files talks about the book so much I had to read it...). : D Really? I never noticed. Now I have to read it to."
Yes, in the second or third series, she is given a dog that she calls Queequeg (a headhunter that Ishmael has to share a bed with in the first part of the book as they are waiting for the ship to cast off). Scully's nickname from her father is Starbucks(also a nod to Moby Dick- I forget what her nickname for her father was, but he used to read to her from the book when she was a girl). She also tells Mulder that he is Ahab(as in always relentless in his search for little 'grey'men). I know, I'm a geek- I've watched all of the seasons over and over again!Now if I can just find "The Lone Gunmen"(their one and only season,I'll be a happy girl. Maybe I just need to get a life...
Can't do Twilight. Read the first one and I wish I had that time back. To me those books are infinitely more boring than watching paint dry. I just don't get the hype over them
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Sugar and Spice (other topics)The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (other topics)
The Host (other topics)
Midnight’s Children (other topics)
Breaking Dawn (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Salman Rushdie (other topics)Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Chuck Palahniuk (other topics)
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I will NEVER read anything by Ann Coulter. No way.
I won't read anything by James Patterson (I don't believe he even writes his own books anymore) or Sylvia Browne. I also have an aversion to Janet Evanovich. I probably won't read anymore Jodi Picoult - I thought My Sister's Keeper was awful.
I have been avoiding Twilight mainly because all of the fans are so annoying about how great it is, but I may cave and read it in a couple years when the fad has run its course.
I tried the first Shopoholic book and couldn't stand it. The main character was just ditzy and annoying. Hopefully it'll make a better movie.
That being said, I love the Harry Potter series, and Oprah tends to pick pretty good books. I've read Anthem by Ayn Rand and loved it - I haven't gotten a chance to read the others yet. I also read I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb and remember liking it, although it was at least 5 years ago, so maybe a re-read would change my mind.